THE graves of hundreds of Britain’s bravest warriors could soon crumble away unless the only charity tending them gets an urgent cash injection, it was revealed last night.

The warning came from Gary Stapleton who has made it his life’s work to map out and restore the spots where winners of the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military decoration, are buried.

The Victoria Cross Trust, which he founded two years ago, needs £100,000 a year simply to survive but receives no support from the Government. It relies almost entirely on public donations which average just £50 a week.

But an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £5,000 to restore a single headstone was refused because the work was deemed “low priority”.

The Daily Express can exclusively reveal that English Heritage thinks the graves of Victoria Cross heroes are so historically important that all will be made Grade II listed monuments.

Despite this, the trust’s work could stop “within months”.

I have looked everywhere for funding but have had the door slammed in my face at every turn

Mr Stapleton

Former Royal Hussars trooper Mr Stapleton, 45, of Doncaster, south Yorkshire, said: “It’s a very sad state of affairs, especially when you think this is something that doesn’t cost millions of pounds. Everybody who serves this country overseas is a hero, but these are the valorous few.

“I have looked everywhere for funding but have had the door slammed in my face at every turn. I thought I could rely on the HLF and was left gobsmacked when my application was turned down.”

Mr Stapleton has ploughed £30,000 of his own money into the trust which, on average, spends £1,000 restoring each grave. He says there are 500 graves needing urgent work.

Some of the heroes from the 19th century have no family alive, so their graves have been left to fall apart.

Mr Stapleton said: “What I am doing is a labour of love and while I appreciate not everyone will share my passion there is a lot of concern. We need to cherish these graves to ensure the memory of those who gave their lives for this country lives on.”

The HLF said funding was still possible if the trust created a “wider project telling the stories behind the graves”.